ANNISTON, Ala. –
Army Lt. Col. Michael L. Lindley has been awarded the Defense Meritorious Service Medal for his numerous accomplishments while serving as commander, Defense Logistics Agency Distribution Anniston, Alabama.
As the commander for the Army’s only small arms storage and distribution facility, Lindley had oversight over 200 civilians, 35 contractors, and over $7 billion in inventory from all services.
“[Lt. Col. Lindley’s] steadfast leadership has developed a great working relationship with host Anniston Army Depot, vastly improved the culture within [the] workforce, and developed systems which will be sustained long after his tenure,” said DLA Distribution commanding general Army Brig. Gen. John S. Laskodi.
During his two years with the organization, Lindley built a problem-solving culture through organizational restructuring, sound continuous process improvements, and active leadership. He focused on maintaining a balance of safety, quality, and productivity while keeping employee welfare, growth, and development at the forefront.
With regards to distribution safety, Lindley ensured the organization met all OSHA work-related injury or illness standards, and reduced overall illness/injury incidents by 50 percent, with ergonomic injuries dropping by 80 percent and the number of property damage accidents reduced by 54 percent.
He also upgraded distribution center facilities with a $16 million Fire Suppression System and set in motion numerous Sustainment, Restoration and Modernization projects exceeding $3.5 million.
Focusing on quality, Lindley stood-up two customer support teams, one of which is solely dedicated on small arms, in order to manage external issues such as forecasted requirements and customer complaints while refocusing the Division Chiefs inward on safety, quality, and productivity. Customer support team efforts resulted in over $1 billion in new business and over $1 million in off-line, reimbursable work annually.
Finally, when Lindley took command in June 2016, he was challenged immediately with a 100 percent wall-to-wall inventory of over one million small arms and a growing backlog. At the same time, his team shipped over 200 tracked vehicles and towed artillery in support of the President’s European Reassurance Initiative and the Army’s fielding of its fifteenth Armored Brigade Combat Team, while simultaneously shipping over 100,000 weapons annually in support of Foreign Military Sales.
Reflecting on his time with the organization, Lindley said “This has truly been a rewarding assignment for my professional growth, and the bonus is all the great people that I had the opportunity to work with and learn from over the last couple of years. DDAA is excellent, innovative, and always resilient. Most importantly, they never settle and continue to grow, and I am proud and thankful for their efforts.”